The invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing stress relief for humans. In industrial nations, the pressure of one's job, the requirement for sufficient money to support one's self and one's family and the desire for material wealth has placed an increased stress level on many individuals. Smoking and drinking alcohol and other vices tend to increase the stress level. Increased stress levels can be harmful to a person's health and can result in heart attacks, strokes and assorted other ailments. Some ways to reduce stress are exercise and meditation.
Traditional American medicine has recently been supplemented with alternative types of treatments. One of the alternative treatments is acupuncture, which is a traditional form of treating people used in the Far East for thousands of years. Books about acupuncture describe numerous meridians that pass through the human body. Along the meridians are points that can be stimulated to promote healthful results.
Three of the meridians that travel along the arm of a person to their head are the triple warmer (TW), the small intestine (SI) and the large intestine (LI) meridians. Each of these meridians has a beginning point (BP) and an end point (EP). These points are also called sing points or acubane points. The reason the triple warmer meridian, the small intestine meridian and the large intestine meridian have special neurological significance is they all begin in the hands and end in the head. The fact that they end in the head means that they have input into the brain or neurology. Any point on these meridians can be used to positive advantage, especially if directed up the head, but for convenience the following points are most important for each meridian.
TW1 and TW23 are the respective beginning and end points on the triple warmer meridian. TW1 (also known as GUANCHONG) is located on the ulnar side of the ring finger, 0.1 cun posterior to the corner of the fingernail. When this acupuncture point is actuated, headaches and hysteria and other symptoms can be alleviated. TW3 (also known as ZHONGZHU) is on the dorsum of the hand between the forth and fifth metacarpal bones. Activation of this point often helps to alleviate headaches. TW23 ends at the end of the eyebrow.
Small intestine point 1 (SI1) is located at the ulnar side of the small finger, about 0.1 cun posterior to the corner of the fingernail. Activation of this point helps to alleviate headaches and other symptoms. The small intestine point 3 (SI3) is located at the end of the transverse crease proximal to the 5th metacarpi-phalangeal joint when the hand is half clinched. Activation of this point helps to alleviate stiffness or rigidity of the neck and also headaches. Small intestine point 19 (SI19) ends in front of the ear.
The large intestine point 1 (LI1) (also known as SHANGYANG) is located on the radial side of the index finger, 0.1 inch posterior to the fingernail. The large intestine point 4 (LI4), (also known as the HEGU), is located on the middle of the second metacarpal bone, on the radial aspect. Actuation of this point alleviates headaches and other symptoms. Large intestine point 20 (LI20) ends lateral to the base of the nose.
Some of the prior art stress control structures and methods are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,410 of Frenkel et al and U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,376 of Shealy et al. The Frankel et al patent uses a pair of eyeglasses having a circuit for monitoring a physiological function of the eyeglass wearer corresponding to a predetermined stress level. The circuit contains an alarm which emits an auditory and/or visual signal in response to a change in said physiological function.
The Shealy et al patent includes a relaxation device that includes a portable mask having a flashing light source. When the mask is positioned on the subjects head a flashing light, having a preselected color is emitted into the subject's eyes. The color is selected to increase beta endorphins into the blood stream of the subject.
Another method and apparatus for stress relief is described in applicant's previous U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,173. It has a square wave generator that is connected to two separate closed circuits each having a light emitting diode at their ends. Each of these circuits has a human body ground member electrically connected to the wave generator. When the respective human body ground members are in contact with the human body, the square wave electrical signal will pass through the person's body between the respective human ground members. In a second embodiment,the human ground member is the temple member of an eyeglass frame.
It is an object of the invention to provide a novel method and apparatus that is for stress relief that does not require the electrical circuits to use the human body as a ground.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a novel method and apparatus for stress relief that has been designed to function on a patient's hands where the points are on the Koryo Hand Therapy Meridians.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel method and apparatus for stress relief that utilizes Koryo Hand Therapy meridians that are approximately three times as powerful as the conventional acupuncture point of the body utilized by U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,173.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a novel method and apparatus for stress relief that is portable and easily used by a patient.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel method and apparatus for stress relief that doesn't introduce electricity into the body. Electricity introduced into the body has disadvantages (i.e. for pacemakers in the heart).